To fill out a customs form for international shipping, choose the right form for your carrier and package, list every item separately with an honest description, value, quantity, weight, and country of origin, add an HS or Schedule B code where required, mark whether the shipment is a gift, sale, sample, returned goods, or documents, and sign to certify that everything is accurate and nothing inside is prohibited. The details below cover which form applies to you, what each field is really asking for, and where small errors turn into real problems.
Which Form You Actually Need
The form depends on your carrier and the size and value of what you’re sending.
Through USPS, there are two postal declarations. PS Form 2976 is the short CN 22 declaration for lower-value, lighter packages. PS Form 2976-A is the longer declaration for heavier or higher-value shipments. Priority Mail International requires the longer PS Form 2976-A for every item regardless of value. First-Class Package International Service allows the shorter PS Form 2976 for items valued at $400 or less.1Postal Explorer. International Mail Manual 123 Customs Forms and Online Shipping Labels
The general dividing line: packages under 2 kilograms with a low value can use the short form; anything heavier or above the value threshold needs the long form. When you’re unsure, use the long one. It covers everything the short form does.
Through FedEx, UPS, DHL, or any commercial shipment, you’ll use a commercial invoice instead of, or alongside, a postal customs form. U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires commercial invoices to include a merchandise description, quantities, values, and the eight-digit tariff classification from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.2eCFR. 19 CFR 142.6 – Invoice Requirements The invoice must also carry the name and address of the seller, the buyer, and the country of origin for each item.3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Commercial Invoice Requirements When Clearing or Filing Entry Documents With U.S. Customs and Border Protection
What to Gather Before You Start
Preparation is where most customs mistakes get prevented. Have this in front of you before you open the form:
- Full legal names, complete street addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses for both sender and recipient. Some carriers won’t accept P.O. boxes.
- A specific description for each item. “Men’s cotton t-shirt, size large” is usable. “Clothing” isn’t, and vague descriptions can trigger inspection or rejection, especially for shipments to the European Union.
- Quantity, value in U.S. dollars, and weight for each item, listed individually.
- Country of origin for each item, meaning where it was manufactured — not where you bought it or where you live.
- The shipment category: gift, sale of goods, returned goods, commercial sample, or documents.
- HS code or Schedule B number for the items, required for commercial shipments and strongly recommended otherwise.
Filling In the Form
One thing that surprises people: USPS no longer accepts handwritten customs forms. All hard-copy versions of PS Form 2976 and PS Form 2976-A meant for handwriting are obsolete and prohibited. You have two options. Generate the form electronically through Click-N-Ship or the USPS Customs Form Online tool, or complete a PS Form 2976-R worksheet by hand and take it to a post office counter, where a clerk enters your information and prints the official form.1Postal Explorer. International Mail Manual 123 Customs Forms and Online Shipping Labels FedEx, UPS, and DHL handle their customs documentation through their own online shipping platforms.
Start with the sender and recipient addresses in the format the destination country uses, including postal codes. Then list each item separately. Three books and a scarf mean four line items with their own quantities, values, and weights. Don’t bundle different items under a single description.
Enter the total shipment value, which should equal the sum of the individual item values. Select the shipment category. Sign and date. Your signature certifies that every entry is truthful and that the package doesn’t contain anything prohibited under postal, customs, or destination-country laws.4United States Postal Service. USPS Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note PS Form 2976-R That certification carries real penalties, discussed further down.
Why the Shipment Category Matters
The category you pick directly affects what the recipient pays. Many countries apply a higher duty-free threshold to genuine gifts sent between individuals than to commercial purchases. In the United States, unsolicited gifts valued up to $100 can enter duty-free when sent from one individual to another. Commercial purchases don’t get that treatment.
Labeling a commercial sale as a “gift” to help the buyer skip duties is customs fraud. It’s also self-defeating. If the package is lost or damaged, any insurance claim is capped at the value you declared, not the price actually paid. A $200 item declared as a $20 gift pays out at $20. Customs authorities know what things cost, and a pattern of low-value “gifts” from a business address draws attention fast.
HS Codes and Schedule B Numbers
The Harmonized System is a standardized way of classifying traded products, used by countries around the world to identify goods and assess duties.5International Trade Administration. Harmonized System (HS) Codes HS codes are six digits and internationally consistent. The code tells any customs agency on earth what the product is.
U.S. exporters have an extra layer. The United States uses Schedule B numbers for outgoing goods, which are ten digits: the first six match the international HS code, and the last four add U.S.-specific detail. The Census Bureau maintains the official Schedule B classification tool.6U.S. Census Bureau. Schedule B For personal shipments, the six-digit HS code is usually enough. Commercial shipments should use the full ten-digit Schedule B number, and it becomes mandatory when filing Electronic Export Information for shipments over $2,500.
You can look up codes with the Census Bureau’s search tool or the Harmonized Tariff Schedule maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission.7U.S. International Trade Commission. Harmonized Tariff Schedule Wrong classification can lead to the recipient paying incorrect duties or the shipment being flagged for inspection. CBP will help classify goods at your request if you’re unsure.
What You Cannot Ship at All
No customs form makes a prohibited item legal to send. The USPS rule of thumb: if you can’t ship it domestically, you can’t ship it internationally either. Beyond that, items broadly prohibited for international mail include aerosols, ammunition, explosives, alcoholic beverages, gasoline, dry ice, all forms of marijuana and hemp-based products including CBD, nail polish, perfumes containing alcohol, mercury, and poisons.8United States Postal Service. International Shipping Restrictions, Prohibitions, and HAZMAT
Shipments to countries under active U.S. sanctions programs are prohibited or heavily restricted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.9Office of Foreign Assets Control. Sanctions Programs and Country Information If your destination is on the OFAC list, talk to a trade compliance attorney before shipping anything.
Get the Value Right — Especially Now
Destination customs authorities use the values on your form to calculate duties and taxes. Historically, shipments below a country’s de minimis threshold entered duty-free. That’s changed.
The United States previously allowed imports under $800 to enter duty-free under Section 321 of the Tariff Act.10U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Section 321 Programs As of February 24, 2026, an executive order suspended that exemption. All shipments entering the U.S. are now subject to duties, taxes, and fees regardless of value.11The White House. Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries The European Union has moved similarly to eliminate its €150 customs duty exemption for low-value shipments.
Your recipient is more likely to owe duties in 2026 than a year ago, even on small packages. Understating value to help them avoid duties creates legal risk for you. Overstating value means they overpay. Put the real number down.
When You Also Have to File EEI
If any single commodity in your shipment is worth more than $2,500, you must file Electronic Export Information through the Automated Export System before the package leaves the country.12U.S. Census Bureau. Frequently Asked Questions of the Foreign Trade Regulations This applies to individuals as well as businesses. Filing generates an Internal Transaction Number (ITN) that you provide to the carrier.
The threshold is per Schedule B classification, not per package. A box holding $2,000 of electronics and $1,000 of clothing doesn’t require EEI, since neither category alone crosses $2,500. A box with $3,000 of electronics does, whatever else is in it.13eCFR. 15 CFR 30.2 – General Requirements for Filing Electronic Export Information
Skipping this step is expensive. Knowingly failing to file or submitting false export information can bring a criminal fine of up to $10,000 per violation, up to five years in prison, or both, with civil penalties reaching an additional $10,000 per violation.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 13 US Code 305 – Penalties for Unlawful Export Information Activities Some items also require an export license under the Export Administration Regulations regardless of value, particularly technology, software, and dual-use goods.15Bureau of Industry and Security. Part 734 – Scope of the Export Administration Regulations
What Happens If You Get It Wrong
Federal law prohibits importing or exporting merchandise using false documents or material omissions, and CBP enforces this actively. Civil penalties scale with intent:
- Negligence, meaning failure to exercise reasonable care, can bring a civil penalty of up to two times the duties owed, or 20% of the dutiable value if no duties were affected.
- Gross negligence, meaning reckless disregard for accuracy, can bring up to four times the duties owed, or 40% of the dutiable value.
- Fraud, meaning intentional falsification, can bring a penalty of up to the entire domestic value of the merchandise.
CBP doesn’t typically pursue penalties for isolated clerical errors or honest mistakes unless they form a pattern. If you catch a mistake after the fact, voluntary disclosure before CBP opens an investigation substantially reduces the penalty. For fraud, the maximum drops from the full domestic value to 100% of the unpaid duties. For negligence or gross negligence, it drops to interest on the unpaid amount.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1592 – Penalties for Fraud, Gross Negligence, and Negligence
Double-check values and descriptions before you ship. If you realize afterward that a value or description was wrong, contact your carrier right away. A correction before customs processing is always easier than an explanation after.
Attaching the Form and What Comes Next
Print the form and attach it to the outside of the package in a clear pouch or adhesive sleeve, positioned so it doesn’t cover barcodes, tracking labels, or the shipping address. If your carrier requires multiple copies, put one inside the package and additional copies on the exterior. Some carriers do this automatically when you generate the label and customs form together online.
Drop the package off or schedule a pickup, and keep the tracking number. If the package is held at customs, the tracking number is how you find out why. The package then enters clearance in the destination country, where officials review the declaration, assess duties, and either release the package or flag it for inspection.
If CBP or a foreign customs agency seizes a package for a violation, the sender or recipient is normally notified by mail through the agency’s enforcement office.17U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Internet Purchases – Goods Ordered From Overseas Not Received, CBP Assistance You’ll have a window to respond, provide documentation, or contest the seizure. Deadlines for contesting forfeitures are strict, so act quickly.